Map of French Polynesia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: The French annexed various Polynesian island groups during the 19th century. In 1966, the French Government began testing nuclear weapons on the uninhabited Mururoa Atoll; following mounting opposition, the tests were moved underground in 1975. In September 1995, France stirred up widespread protests by resuming nuclear testing after a three-year moratorium. The tests were halted in January 1996. In recent years, French Polynesia's autonomy has been considerably expanded.


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Location: Oceania, five archipelagoes (Archipel des Tuamotu, Iles Gambier, Iles Marquises, Iles Tubuai, Society Islands) in the South Pacific Ocean about halfway between South America and Australia

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 S, 140 00 W

Map reference: Oceania

Area
Total: 4,167 km²
Note: (118 islands and atolls; 67 are inhabited)
Land: 3,827 km²
Water: 340 km²
Rank: 174
Comparative: slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 2,525 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: tropical, but moderate

Terrain: mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs

Elevation
Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
Highest point: Mont Orohena 2,241 m

Natural resources: timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower

Land use
Agricultural land: 12.5% (2011 est.)
Forest: 43.7% (2011 est.)
Other: 43.8% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 10 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: occasional cyclonic storms in January

Geography
Note: includes five archipelagoes: four volcanic (Iles Gambier, Iles Marquises, Iles Tubuai, Society Islands) and one coral (Archipel des Tuamotu); the Tuamotu Archipelago forms the largest group of atolls in the world - 78 in total, 48 inhabited; Makatea in the Tuamotu Archipelago is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Nauru


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Population
Distribution: the majority of the population lives in the Society Islands, one of five archipelagos that includes the most populous island - Tahiti - with approximately 70% of the nation's population: 295,121 (July 2020 est.)
Rank: 180
Growth rate: 0.79% (2020 est.)
Growth rate rank: 127
Below poverty line: 19.7% (2009 est.)

Nationality
Noun: French Polynesian(s)
Adjective: French Polynesian

Ethnic groups: Polynesian 78%, Chinese 12%, local French 6%, metropolitan French 4%

Languages: French (official) 70%, Polynesian (official) 28.2%, other 1.8% (2012 est.)

Religions: Protestant 54%, Roman Catholic 30%, other 10%, no religion 6%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 21.69% (male 32,920/female 31,100)
15-24 years: 14.72% (male 22,640/female 20,793)
25-54 years: 44.24% (male 66,921/female 63,636)
55-64 years: 10.31% (male 15,610/female 14,823)
65 years and over: 9.04% (male 12,854/female 13,824) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 45.5
Youth dependency ratio: 32.3
Elderly dependency ratio: 13.2
Potential support ratio: 7.6 (2020 est.)

Median age
Total: 33.3 years
Male: 33 years
Female: 33.5 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 98

Population growth rate: 0.79% (2020 est.)
Rank: 127

Birth rate: 14 births/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 134

Death rate: 5.5 deaths/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 182

Net migration rate: -0.7 migrant(s)/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 130

Population distribution: the majority of the population lives in the Society Islands, one of five archipelagos that includes the most populous island - Tahiti - with approximately 70% of the nation's population

Urbanization
Urban population: 62% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 1.01% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 136,000 PAPEETE (capital) (2018)

Environment
Current issues: sea level rise; extreme weather events (cyclones, storms, and tsunamis producing floods, landslides, erosion, and reef damage); droughts; fresh water scarcity

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.5 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 5 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 4 deaths/1000 live births (2020 est.)
Rank: 181

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.9 years
Male: 75.6 years
Female: 80.4 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 71

Total fertility rate: 1.83 children born/woman (2020 est.)
Rank: 144

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source
Total:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 2.13 physicians/1000 population (2009)

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access
Total:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate note: NA
People living with hivaids note: NA
Deaths note: NA

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: high (2020)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
Vectorborne diseases: malaria

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Overseas Lands of French Polynesia
Conventional short form: French Polynesia
Local long form: Pays doutre-mer de la Polynesie Francaise
Local short form: Polynesie Francaise
Former: Establishments in Oceania, French Establishments in Oceania
Etymology: the term Polynesia is an 18th-century construct composed of two Greek words, poly (many) and nesoi (islands), and refers to the more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean

Government type: parliamentary democracy (Assembly of French Polynesia); an overseas collectivity of France

Capital
Name: Papeete (located on Tahiti)
Geographic coordinates: 17 32 S, 149 34 W
Time difference: UTC-10 (5 hours behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time): etymology: the name means 'water basket' and refers to the fact that the islanders originally used calabashes enclosed in baskets to fetch water at a spring in the area

Administrative divisions: 5 administrative subdivisions (subdivisions administratives, singular - subdivision administrative): Iles Australes (Austral Islands), Iles du Vent (Windward Islands), Iles Marquises (Marquesas Islands), Iles Sous-le-Vent (Leeward Islands), Iles Tuamotu-Gambier; note - the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands together make up the Society Islands (Iles de la Societe)

Dependent areas

Independence: none (overseas lands of France)

National holiday: Fete de la Federation, 14 July (1790); note - the local holiday is Internal Autonomy Day, 29 June (1880)

Constitution
History: 4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
Amendments: French constitution amendment procedures apply

Legal system: the laws of France, where applicable, apply

International law organization participation

Citizenship: see France

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017), represented by High Commissioner of the Republic Dominique SORAIN (since 10 July 2019)
Head of government: President of French Polynesia Edouard FRITCH (since 12 September 2014)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers approved by the Assembly from a list of its members submitted by the president
Electionsappointments: French president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; French Polynesia president indirectly elected by Assembly of French Polynesia for a 5-year term (no term limits)

Legislative branch
Description:
Elections:
Election results:

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Court of Appeal or Cour dAppel (composition NA); note - appeals beyond the French Polynesia Court of Appeal are heard by the Court of Cassation (in Paris)
Judge selection and term of office: judges assigned from France normally for 3 years
Subordinate courts: Court of the First Instance or Tribunal de Premiere Instance; Court of Administrative Law or Tribunal Administratif

Political parties and leaders: A Tia Porinetia [Teva ROHFRITSCH]Alliance for a New Democracy or ADN (includes The New Star [Philip SCHYLE], This Country is Yours [Nicole BOUTEAU])New Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api) [Emile VERNAUDON]Our Home alliancePeople's Servant Party (Tavini Huiraatira) [Oscar TEMARU]Popular Rally (Tahoeraa Huiraatira) [Gaston FLOSSE]Tapura Huiraatira [Edouard FRITICH]Tavini Huiraatira [James CHANCELOR]Union for Democracy alliance or UPD [Oscar TEMARU]

International organization participation: ITUC (NGOs), PIF (associate member), SPC, UPU, WMO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (overseas lands of France)
From the us: none (overseas lands of France)

Flag description: two red horizontal bands encase a wide white band in a 1:2:1 ratio; centered on the white band is a disk with a blue and white wave pattern depicting the sea on the lower half and a gold and white ray pattern depicting the sun on the upper half; a Polynesian canoe rides on the wave pattern; the canoe has a crew of five represented by five stars that symbolize the five island groups; red and white are traditional Polynesian colors
Note: identical to the red-white-red flag of Tahiti, the largest and most populous of the islands in French Polynesia, but which has no emblem in the white band; the flag of France is used for official occasions

National symbols: outrigger canoe, Tahitian gardenia (Gardenia taitensis) flower; national colors: red, white

National anthem
Name: Ia Ora O Tahiti Nui (Long Live Tahiti Nui)
Lyricsmusic: Maeva BOUGES, Irmine TEHEI, Angele TEROROTUA, Johanna NOUVEAU, Patrick AMARU, Louis MAMATUI, and Jean-Pierre CELESTIN (the compositional group created both the lyrics and music)
Note: adopted 1993; serves as a local anthem; as a territory of France, 'La Marseillaise' is official (see France)

National heritage


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Economy overview

Real gdp purchasing power parity
Real:

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 136

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 83

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 66.9% (2014 est.)
Government consumption: 33.6% (2014 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 19.4% (2014 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0.1% (2014 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 17.5% (2014 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -37.5% (2014 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.5% (2009)
Industry: 13% (2009)
Services: 84.5% (2009)

Agriculture products: coconuts, vanilla, vegetables, fruits, coffee; poultry, beef, dairy products; fish

Industries: tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts, phosphates

Industrial production growth rate
Note: NA

Labor force: 126,300 (2016 est.)
Rank: 178
By occupation agriculture: 13%
By occupation industry: 19%
By occupation services: 68% (2013 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 192

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 19.7% (2009 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: 1.891 billion (2012)
Expenditures: 1.833 billion (2011)
Surplus or deficit: 1.2% (of GDP) (2012)
Surplus or deficit rank: 28

Taxes and other revenues: 39.4% (of GDP) (2012)
Rank: 46

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 20

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:
Rank: 57

Exports:
Rank: 152
Partners: Japan 23.1%, Hong Kong 21.5%, Kyrgyzstan 15.9%, US 15.9%, France 12.4% (2017)
Commodities: cultured pearls, coconut products, mother-of-pearl, vanilla, shark meat

Imports:
Rank: 167
Commodities: fuels, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment
Partners: France 27.9%, South Korea 12.1%, US 10.1%, China 7.3%, NZ 6.7%, Singapore 4.2% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: NA

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2020)
Production: 677.3 million kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 158
Consumption: 629.9 million kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 164
Exports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 136
Imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 150
Installed generating capacity: 253,000 kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 163
Generation sources fossil fuels: 70% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 107
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 92
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 19% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 89
Generation sources other renewable sources: 11% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 77

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 139
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 127
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 129
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 134

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 147
Products consumption: 6,600 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 168
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 157
Products imports: 6,785 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 160

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 135
Consumption: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 148
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 106
Imports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 127
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 137

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 1.03 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 168

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 63,769
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 21.78 (2019 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 152
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 305,233
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 104.25 (2019 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 179

Telephone system

Broadcast media: French public overseas broadcaster Reseau Outre-Mer provides 2 TV channels and 1 radio station; 1 government-owned TV station; a small number of privately owned radio stations (2019)

Internet
Country code: .pf
Users total: 211,101
Users percent of population: 72.7% (July 2018 est.)
Users rank: 174

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 59,790
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 21 (2018 est.)
Rank: 132


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces: no regular military forces (2019)

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 2
Note: (registered in France)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 19

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: F-OH (2016)

Airports: 54 (2013)
Rank: 86
With paved runways total: 45 (2017)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2 (2017)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5 (2017)
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 33 (2017)
With paved runways under 914 m: 5 (2017)
With unpaved runways total: 9 (2013)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4 (2013)
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 5 (2013)

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Total: 2,590 km (1999)
Paved: 1735 km (1999)
Unpaved: 855 km (1999)
Rank: 167

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 17
By type: general cargo 10, other 7 (2019)
Rank: 145

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Papeete


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs